Unless specifically defined below, words and phrases used in this chapter shall be interpreted so as to give this chapter its most reasonable application.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A structure serving a purpose customarily incidental to the principal building and located on the same lot as the principal building.
A use subordinate and customarily incidental to the principal use on the same lot.
A flood which has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year (also called the "100-year flood" or 1% annual chance flood).
The volume of water resulting from a Base Flood as it passes a given location within a given time, usually expressed in cubic feet per second (cfs).
The elevation shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Zones AE, AH, A1-30 that indicates the water surface elevation resulting from a flood that has a 1% or greater chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. In areas where the BFE is not indicated on the FIRM, the BFE shall be considered the BFE as calculated in § 190-18.
Any area of the building having its floor below ground level on all sides.
Any combination of materials forming any structure which is erected on the ground and permanently affixed thereto, designed, intended or arranged for the housing, shelter, enclosure or structural support of persons, animals or property of any kind.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to the construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, expansion, or alteration of buildings or other structures; the placement of mobile/manufactured homes; streets, and other paving; utilities; filling, grading and excavation; mining; dredging; drilling operations; storage of equipment or materials; and the subdivision of land.
A mobile/manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the mobile/manufactured homes are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
The preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the mobile/manufactured homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).
A temporary inundation of normally dry land areas.
The Official Map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazards and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
The official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that includes flood profiles, the Flood Insurance Rate Map, the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, and the water surface elevation of the base flood.
The Township of Spring Building Code Official.
A relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river or watercourse; and/or any area subject to the unusual and rapid accumulation of surface waters from any source.
Any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures which reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, structures and their contents.
The channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one foot.
The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or
The lowest floor of the lowest fully enclosed area (including basement). An unfinished, flood resistant partially enclosed area, used solely for parking of vehicles, building access, or incidental storage, in an area other than a basement area, is not considered the lowest floor of a building, provided that such space is not designed and built so that the structure is in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of this chapter.
The replacement of existing materials with equivalent materials for the purpose of its routine maintenance and upkeep, but not including the cutting away of any wall, partition or portion thereof, the removal or cutting of any structural beam or bearing support, or the removal or change of any required means of egress, or rearrangement of parts of a structure affecting the exit way requirements; nor shall minor repairs include addition to, alteration of, replacement or relocation of any standpipe, water supply, sewer, drainage, drain leader, gas, oil, waste, vent, or similar piping, electric wiring or mechanical or other facilities affecting public health or general safety.
A transportable, single-family detached dwelling designed so that it can be used for permanent occupancy, contained in one unit or in two units designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of again being separated for repeated towing, which arrives at a site complete and ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations and constructed so that it may be used with or without a permanent foundation. Mobile/manufactured homes shall be constructed in accordance with the Safety and Construction Standards of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The term "mobile/manufactured home" shall not be deemed to include "recreation vehicle" nor a "modular home" placed on a permanent perimeter foundation.
A parcel of land under single ownership which has been planned and improved for the placement of two or more mobile homes for nontransient residential use.
The Township of Spring, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after July 3, 2012, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures. Any construction started after April 18, 1983, and before July 3, 2012, is subject to the ordinance in effect at the time the permit was issued, provided the start of construction was within 180 days of permit issuance.
A mobile/manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the mobile/manufactured homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of floodplain management regulations adopted by a community.
An individual, partnership, public or private association or corporation, firm, trust, estate, municipality, governmental unit, public utility or any other legal entity whatsoever, which is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
A structure for which construction or substantial improvement occurred after December 31, 1974, or on April 18, 1983, whichever is later, and, as such, would be required to be compliant with the regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program.
Is a structure for which construction or substantial improvement occurred on or before December 31, 1974, or before April 18, 1983, whichever is later, and, as such, would not be required to be compliant with the regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program.
A vehicle which is:
Built on a single chassis;
Not more than 400 square feet, measured at the largest horizontal projections;
Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck;
Not designed for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
The BFE or estimated 1% annual chance flood elevation, as determined using methods acceptable to the Floodplain Administrator, plus a freeboard safety factor of 1 1/2 feet.
An area in the floodplain subject to a 1% or greater chance of flooding in any given year. It is shown on the FIRM as Zone A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, or, AH.
Includes substantial improvement and other proposed new development and means the date the permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement was within 180 days from the date of the permit and shall be completed within 12 months after the date of issuance of the permit unless a time extension is granted, in writing, by the Floodplain Administrator. The "actual start" means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a mobile/manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading, and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first, alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
Any man-made object having an ascertainable, stationary location on or in land or water, whether or not affixed to the land or something located on the land. The term structure shall include buildings, signs, fences, walls, towers, swimming pools, porches, gas or liquid storage tanks, as well as mobile/manufactured homes.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of land by any means into two or more lots, tracts, parcels or other divisions of land including changes in existing lot lines for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court for distribution to heirs, or devisees, transfer of ownership or building or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres, not involving any new street or easement of access or any residential dwelling, shall be exempted.
Damage from any cause sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% or more of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the "start of construction" of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage" regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions.
The Township of Spring, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
The statewide building code adopted by The Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1999 applicable to new construction in all municipalities whether administered by the municipality, a third party or the Department of Labor and Industry. Applicable to residential and commercial buildings, the Code adopted the International Residential Code (IRC) and the International Building Code (IBC), by reference, as the construction standard applicable with the state floodplain construction. For coordination purposes, references to the above are made specifically to various sections of the IRC and the IBC.
The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required in 44 CFR § 60.3(b)(5), (c)(4), (c)(10), (d)(3), (e)(2), (e)(4), or (e)(5) is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.
A channel or conveyance of surface water having a defined bed and banks, whether natural or artificial, with perennial or intermittent flow.